Oh, the Irony
by Panna37
Summary: Because of Kisara's large chakra reserve, she has been the target and captive of power-hungry rogue ninja for as long as she can remember. After seventeen years, she finally gains the independence she yearns for, but she soon finds herself tagging along with Suigetsu of the Mist. Over time, Kisara finds it harder and harder to keep her promise to never trust anyone... SuigetsuXOC.
1. A Break in the Routine (Chapter One)

_Hello. :)_

_Welcome to my second fanfiction. I've been working on this for quite a while now, and I'm hoping that I'll be able to continue writing this without much writer's block. I personally love my OC in this one (although her personality doesn't really shine through in this chapter)... and I'm hoping you will, too. _

_As I'm sure you read from the summary, Suigetsu is also involved. I don't see many SuigetsuXOC fanfictions, so I'm glad this one can add to that small number... I just absolutely love him, and I feel like he's underrated. _

_Reviewing is encouraged! :)_

_Disclaimer: I am not Masashi Kishimoto. Therefore, I do not own Naruto/Naruto Shippuden._

* * *

Chapter One

He silently opened the door, allowing a sliver of light to stream into the dark room. Fear struck me like lightning as he did so, but no matter how much I tried, I couldn't raise myself up from the bed for more than two inches. His lips curled into his usual sadistic sneer as he slowly took each step required to reach my helpless form on the dilapidated bed. Despite the lack of sufficient light, I absorbed in every detail with my wide eyes. I was fully conscious, but I wasn't going to be for long.

When his overpowering frame finally stood above me, I stopped trying to move my muscles; it was no use. Resigning this time, I braced myself for what was about to come.

He chuckled, but there was nothing but malice in his laugh. "Well, well. You're feeling obedient today, aren't you?"

Sucking up as much of my saliva as I could, I spat at him in an act of defiance, albeit very small. Nonetheless, his expression contorted to that of fury as he slapped me across the face. I felt a strong sting on my cheek where he hit me, but it wasn't the worst thing he had done to me by far.

"Respect me, you ingrate," he growled. "You should feel grateful that I'm even keeping you alive."

"Like hell... I will..." I managed to croak out.

His eyebrows furrowed even more as he slapped me again. "You'll regret what you've done. Unfortunately, I have to do it quickly this time, but you will definitely be punished later."

Just the prospect of the future punishment filled me with large amounts of apprehension and terror, but I still wasn't going to do anything but oppose him. I could only glare when he placed his hands on my stomach. I could only try to glare when blue chakra enveloped them, illuminating the surrounding area. When I felt the life being sucked out of me, my facial features fell slack, but I cursed him in my mind until the world of unconsciousness temporarily took me away from the torture.

* * *

The beginning of the cycle started again when I felt myself return to reality. It was always like this- he would suck out my chakra until he rendered me unconscious, I would wake up, and he would proceed to do it again and again. He never took enough to kill me, but I was always too weak to walk, let alone stand. Even though he left me bread and water on the nightstand next to my degraded bed, it never provided enough energy for me. This had all been going on for nearly three years now. Sometimes, I really wanted to die... The endless torture would stop if I did.

But with a jolt, I realized that one aspect of my whirlpool of anguish was missing.

I was alone. Completely alone.

And I was a _little_ stronger than usual... I must have been unconscious for longer than the last time. This was very, _very_ rare. I couldn't not take advantage of this situation, so I kept my eyes closed in an attempt to gain more strength. Maybe he wouldn't return for a while...

My hopes were crushed when I heard the wooden door creak open followed with the sounds of footsteps against hard stone. By listening closely, I inferred that there was probably another person with the leader. I definitely did not want to experience the torment involved in the horrendous process I would possibly undergo, so I kept my eyes closed and feigned unconsciousness. Of course, my hearing remained as clear as day.

The footsteps ceased once they reached the side of my bed. My heart was beating frantically, but I focused on keeping my breathing slow and even. The low voice of the leader reverberated through the air after a few seconds.

"She seems to still be unconscious," he observed. "...Or is she really?"

Panic shot through my system, but I still didn't blow my cover. I nearly yelped when he placed his hands on my shoulders and shook my body, sending waves of pain cascading from head to toe. Keeping my eyes closed, I let out a barely audible groan.

"Well, she's not asleep," I heard his comrade mutter. "She's still unconscious! Jeez, Ruga. How much did you take?"

"I don't believe that I took enough for her to die," said Ruga. "I must have taken a little more than usual, that's all. Give her a few more days, and she'll be ready again. We have an abundance of her stored chakra right now, anyway."

"Alright," the other rogue replied. After conversing for a couple of minutes, I felt their presences recede as the sound of their footsteps faded away. The door leading into the hallway closed softly with a _click. _

As soon as they left, my eyelids snapped open and a smile broke across my face. A few more days! _A few more days!_ I basked in the joy of that thought, slowly feeling part of my strength returning to my limbs. The only downside was that I couldn't consume the bread and the water they left for me... If I did, they would surely know that I was awake when they came to check on me again. I would have to find some nourishment on my own, but I was positive that they had plenty of food hidden somewhere.

For the remainder of the day, I lay on my bed, still acting unconscious whenever Ruga came in to check on me. Every time I did, my heart stopped, but he luckily didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. Eventually, the clock on my nightstand read 10:00 a.m. (there were no windows, so I never had any idea of what time it was). Ruga had just checked on me a few minutes earlier, so I assumed it was safe for me to attempt to stand and find something to eat; my stomach caved in from the lack of food.

Very, very carefully, I sat up on my bed, holding myself still for a moment. So far, so good... Now, I felt like I was capable of walking. Slowly, I slid one leg off the bed. Waiting a couple of seconds, I repeated the motion with the other leg.

Feeling confident, I tensed my muscles and pushed myself into a standing position. Almost immediately, my knees buckled under me. I saved myself from crashing to the floor by desperately grabbing the edge of my nightstand. Being bedridden for three years really did have a profound effect on walking...

After an hour of vehemently trying to take as many steps as I could around my room, I leaned against the wall, my breathing already heavy. It took all of that time just for me to regain the ability to walk again, but it was worth it. Would I even dare to venture out of my room? The room I was so familiar with? The room that I hadn't left in a few years?

If I was going to escape this hellhole, then I was definitely going to follow through with my plan. Building up my resolve, I crept over to the door and rested my hand on the cool metal of the knob. Applying only the slightest amount of pressure, I slowly rotated my wrist and gently popped the door open without producing a sound.

Hesitantly, I stepped out into the long corridor. There were still no windows; the only source of light came from a few lanterns hanging from the ceiling. The possibility of me being caught sent adrenaline running through my veins. If they found me out of my room, they would surely punish me worse than they had ever done before. Holding onto the stone wall for support, I guided myself down the poorly-lit hallway until I stumbled across a large room stocked with huge cylinder containers the size of humans.

And the tubes were filled to the brims with glowing blue chakra.

If I wasn't so weak at the moment, I would have jumped for joy. This was _my_ chakra- I could feel it! The energy within the capsules felt so familiar, it almost made me nostalgic. The amount of chakra was bewildering; what Ruga mentioned was, in fact, true. There was certainly an abundance of my stored chakra. I probably couldn't take in all of it right now because there was so much...

Speaking of absorbing chakra, it was imperative that I did it right away so I would have a greater chance of escaping the horrid rogues who were keeping me captive. But how was I going to somehow take my stolen chakra back? I didn't see any lid I could lift...

Breathing out a hopeless sigh, I approached one of the tubes and rested my forehead against the cool glass. After coming all this way, I had finally hit a brick wall. I guess I had always innately known that this was the imminent outcome of my efforts. Now what? Would I just wait for Ruga to discover me?

No. I decided that I wasn't going to blow possibly the only chance I had to reach freedom. As I began contemplating about how I was going to escape from the rogue ninja's grasps, a small part of my brain informed me that I was already a lot stronger than I was a few seconds ago. With a jolt, I craned my head up, regarding the tube now filled only three-fourths of the way.

Oh my god... I was already absorbing my chakra! Pressing the palms of my hands against the surface of the tube, I watched with awe as the level of chakra slowly decreased with each passing minute, correlating with my increasing strength. Soon, I finally felt rejuvenated again, and the declining line of chakra halted when it was a few inches above the ground. Still marveling at my acquired power, I deliberately took long strides around the room and relished in the glorious moment. For once, it didn't matter how many steps I took... They didn't make me feel faint or weak.

However, there was still the horrendous hunger gnawing at my stomach. The amount of chakra I possessed wouldn't matter if I didn't consume any food, although it _did_ greatly boost my energy. Now that I didn't require any support from the walls, I quickly and stealthily crept down each corridor in search of something- anything- to eat.

Luckily, I reached a huge kitchen after half an hour or so. I had a feeling that Ruga would check to see if I was still unconscious soon, so I resolved to consume as much food as I could in the limited amount of time I had. Luckily, no one was present in the kitchen, so I stalked over to the fridge, opened it, and peered inside.

The sight of all the food in the fridge made my mouth water. There were many assortments: meat, eggs, cheese, fruits, and good bread- not the bread that was always provided for me when I was bedridden, but bread actually worth eating. Grabbing the bread, meat, and cheese, I didn't even bother to sit down; I ate them right there in front of the fridge. I stuffed myself until I couldn't hold any more food in my stomach, but I savored every single bite. Actually eating something other than crappy bread and water felt so foreign, yet so good...

As time passed, a sense of uneasiness started to grow within me. I had to get out of here as soon as possible... Just one mistake on my part would blow the closest chance I had of achieving freedom. Now feeling almost completely rejuvenated, I silently darted through each room I came across without any idea of where I was going. I just needed to find an exit... Why was this so hard? I was so close to escaping...

After a while, I got so absorbed in the habit of running into each room without slowing down that I barely managed to screech to a stop once I encountered a room with one of Ruga's followers lightly dozing on a couch. I saw him stir a little at my approach, so I quickly hid behind the door and desperately hoped that he wouldn't discover me. I stayed as still as a deer, and every second seemed to last a minute.

Luckily, Ruga's comrade didn't come around to where I pressed myself against the wall... I wasn't even sure if he left the couch. After hearing him mumble incoherent gibberish, it finally fell silent once more. Hesitantly, I peered around the corner and took in the sight of him sleeping like he had never woken up. Thank goodness... I was safe.

I almost turned around and continued in the direction I had come from, but something on the coffee table caught my eye. Focusing on it, I discovered that it was a satchel filled to the brim with shuriken. Joy immediately overwhelmed me- whenever I fought, I had the best chances of victory when I used shuriken. Silently, I walked into the room and swiped the bag from the table. Wow, this guy sure had to be an idiot in order to leave dangerous weapons out in the open like this...

Basking in the happiness of the moment, I clutched the satchel close to my body as I weeded out all of the places in the hideout that I hadn't checked yet. When was this going to end? I never would have guessed that this place would be so huge! I didn't come across any of the same rooms, so I took it as a sign that I was on the right track towards finding the exit.

About ten minutes later, I jumped when I heard the rise of furious voices along with pounding footsteps somewhere not far from where I was. At that moment, I was positive that the rogues had discovered my empty room. As more adrenaline coursed through my veins, I broke into a sprint and desperately searched for a way out.

I regretted that action immediately. My legs quickly gave out from under me due to my lack of recent mobility. As a result, I stumbled into a nearby lamp, causing it to fall to the floor with a loud crash. Damn... Now they surely knew my location! Cursing, I scrambled to my feet and forced my legs to move me as quickly as they could down each corridor, the angry voices growing in volume with every passing second.

Due to the large strain on my legs, I stumbled to the floor periodically with an increasingly higher frequency over time. Soon, I started to hate my weak legs with a passion. Sweat made some long strands of my brown hair stick to the sides of my face, and I wouldn't have been surprised if the rogues heard my heavy breathing and the loud pounding of my shoes against the stone floor.

Corridor after corridor I ran, my eyes darting to every little sound or movement. Most of my fears turned out to be just a flicker of a lamp or the scuttling of a mouse, but the constant sound of the rogue ninjas' shouts nearly drove me crazy. At one point, when I looked above me, I could even see the rays of the sun penetrating through little holes in the ceiling here and there. Freedom was so, so close... I could almost feel it at my fingertips. I could sense that the barrier between my independence and custody was gradually weakening, even if it was only a minute amount. Just as I allowed a droplet of hope to trickle into me, the sight at the end of the hall made me plant my feet in place.

Two of Ruga's henchman leaned against the wall, twirling kunai around their fingers with malicious smirks on their faces.

What striked me as unusual was their ages; Ruga and the other rogues whom I had seen thus far were well near their thirties, but these shinobi... They were probably seventeen or eighteen, about my age. This only fueled the flames of my hatred against Ruga. How could he? Did he not give a damn about the lives of his recruits which he was throwing away?

...No. Deep down inside, I knew that Ruga couldn't care less about the ages of his recruits... All that mattered to him was power. He viewed his henchman as tools, and nothing more. If I wasn't held captive by him and had a chance to practice ninjutsu, I would have beaten the pulp out of him by now. Sure, I did know a few Jutsu, but I couldn't do them very well, and they were only weak water style ones. I felt afraid that I would only fail and make myself look like a fool if I attempted to do them... My real strength laid within shuriken and kunai. Shuriken and kunai... Wait. Didn't I have shuriken?

The guy on the left chuckled and flicked his blonde strands of hair towards me. "Heh... We found her."

"Yep," the other one replied. "She's not going to get past here, for sure."

The smirks on their faces made me want to vomit, but I only directed a glare towards them as I reached for the satchel now strapped to my waistline.

The blonde one spoke again. "Oooooooh, is she trying to be scary? How pathetic! Why don't you go back to your room, Kisara... It'll be easier for both of us."

I gritted my teeth in irritation as I listened to his arrogant tone. Of course, it would actually be easier if I just returned to my jail cell, but freedom was never easily obtained. By escaping, I had chosen the difficult path, but I wasn't about to stray from it.

"There's no way in hell I'm staying in this god forsaken place," I spat. "I'm breaking out of here... You'd better get out of my way, or you'll regret it."

Despite my harsh words, the two rogues remained in their positions, the only change being them stopping the twirling of their kunai. Huh... I guess they felt somewhat intimidated by me.

The sneer from the other rogue faded as it was replaced with a frown. "This is your last chance," he warned. "If you return to your room like a good girl, we won't have to kill you."

Immediately, I knew that he was totally bluffing. Ruga needed me... Well, rather, he needed my chakra. He wasn't going to waste a perfectly good source of power- I shuddered as I referred to myself as that- because I possessed an unusually large chakra reserve. So, I knew that these two punks weren't going to take my life. However, I was fairly positive that they were going to bring me close to death if the task of recapturing me required for them to go that far. And to be honest, reverting back to being Ruga's power vessel wasn't much better than death.

My eyebrows furrowed further as I prepared myself for the impending attack. "Get lost!" I growled.

"You little..." The blonde rogue seethed. He jerked his head towards his partner, but he kept his eyes glued to me. "Let's go, Hachirou!"

My body tensed for what was about to come. Suddenly, the two rogue ninja shot down the hall towards me like rockets. After being rendered immobile in that small room for years, I had totally become unaccustomed to the speed with which shinobi ran. However, before Ruga held me captive, I was especially known among my home village for my shuriken and kunai throwing skills. I really hoped I had retained those qualities...

As Ruga's henchman drew near, they flicked their wrists and sent two kunai zipping towards me. My right hand automatically flashed to the stolen satchel and grasped as many shuriken as it could hold (three; one shuriken between each finger minus the thumb), much to my surprise. Taking advantage of my fast reflexes, I threw the shuriken with as much energy as I could muster. With elation, I discovered that my skills weren't lacking when two of the shuriken clashed with the thrown kunai, preventing them from coming into contact with my body. The remaining shuriken nicked the blonde on the face, conjuring a line of blood across his cheek. Not allowing myself to hesitate, I ignored the searing pain in my legs and sprinted down the hallway in an attempt to distance myself from my enemies. I decided to find the place with the rays of sunlight beaming down from a few holes in the ceiling; if I had any chance of reaching freedom, I figured that the light signaled for the entrance to the outside world to be nearby.

I heard the blonde growl in frustration as the two shinobi started trailing me, but I continued to dash for my goal. By some miracle, I managed to fend off the many kunai thrown at me with the shuriken from my satchel, but the satchel was rapidly becoming lighter.

Eventually, just as I felt like I was going to collapse from exhaustion, I briefly felt the warmth of the sun on my skin. Jerking my head towards the ceiling, I happily squinted against the rays of sunlight beaming down on my face. Now, the only task left was to locate the exit...

"Get back here, you little bitch!"

I didn't know if I stumbled from the weakness of my legs or the surprise from hearing Ruga's voice, but whatever the reason was, it almost made me face-plant on the ground. A new dose of adrenaline surged through my veins, and I made use of it by straining my legs harder than ever to propel me down the endless corridors. _Don't look back, don't look back_, I kept on telling myself. Instead, I focused my attention on discovering an exit and ignored the kunai zipping past my face.

My hopes continued to decline with every passing minute, for an exit seemed impossible to find. It looked like my intuition was incorrect- If the exit wasn't near the rays of sunlight, then where would it be located? I almost froze in my tracks as I considered the possibility that I was taken to this place by the Transportation Jutsu. Oh, god... I had no idea how to perform that Jutsu! What if the outside world was inaccessible from the inside without it? What would I do, then?

As I ran without any sense of where I was going, I suddenly picked up on a small change in my peripheral vision. My eyes immediately flashed to a kunai that just barely whizzed past me- but unlike the others, it had a small piece of paper with an imprinted seal attached. A jolt of panic shot through my body, but before my reflexes could kick in, the paper bomb exploded.


	2. Curry of Life (Chapter Two)

_So, did any of you watch the Curry of Life arc in the pre-Shippuden series?_

_In my opinion, those were close to the only fillers I actually enjoyed. It was mostly because of Lee and how hilarious he is when he's drunk (and if you ask me, he's way too underrated nowadays). But the point is, I decided to include Karashi and Sansho and Ranmaru in this chapter! _

_Call it a tribute, if you will._

_But if you didn't watch that arc (I understand, fillers are just so ugh), the following people will probably just be random characters to you. But unlike those fillers, they're actually important to this story! Yay! _

_Anyway, enjoy!_

_P.S. I adore reviews._

_Disclaimer: I'm posting this because I don't own Naruto/Naruto Shippuden. If I did, writing a fanfiction about my own show would be a little strange._

* * *

Chapter Two

I instinctively snapped my eyelids shut as the force from the explosion sent me flying into the wall. Pain from the impact rocketed through my skull, but I forced myself to ignore it and struggle to my feet. Bleary and disoriented, I coughed and attempted to rub the smoke out of my eyes.

Suddenly, a light so strikingly bright enveloped me from head to toe, followed by a feeling of mild warmth on my skin. My confusion only peaked, but after a few seconds, my eyes adjusted to my surroundings.

If I wasn't so exhausted and injured, the sight before me would have made me jump for joy.

Where the paper bomb had exploded, a huge chunk of the wall had been blown out, allowing sunlight from the _outside world_ to spill into the corridor. Happiness immediately overwhelmed me, and one word flashed through my mind- _freedom._

While I was still concentrating on regaining my balance, I finally looked at Ruga for the first time in what felt like ages... but I could barely make out the shape of his body because of the large amount of smoke hanging in the air.

Providing me with a window of opportunity, Ruga whirled on the blond rogue who taunted me earlier. I presumed from the leader's furious tone that the blond was most likely the one who had thrown the paper bomb.

"Why the hell did you do that, you idiot?!" Ruga bellowed. "You gave her a chance to escape!"

At that, the blond visibly flinched, holding out his hands in a defensive gesture. "Forgive me, leader," he meekly apologized. "I just thought-"

"Thought _what?!_"

Ruga's subordinate shrunk further his boss's sharp gaze. "I just thought that the paper bomb could've... you know... knocked her unconscious. And what if she really is knocked out?"

His words reminded me of the very little time I had before the rogues would start investigating the gaping hole. The resulting smoke from the explosion gave me enough cover for the moment, but it was rapidly dissipating into the outside air. It turned out that catching my breath did nothing to relieve me of the dizziness and my pounding head, so I cast that aside as much as I could and leaped through the hole.

Instead of stone, my feet collided with firm soil and luscious grass. Trees whizzed past me as I continued to run, and nostalgia hit me like a bucket of cold water. The air felt so pure and clean in my burning lungs, unlike the musty air within the rogues' hideout.

But the sunlight... The sunlight left the biggest impression.

To me, everything it illuminated glistened with beauty. Everything bathed in sunlight was so... vibrant. And it wasn't only the appearance that grabbed at me, but also the warmth. The heat on my body made me feel like I was alive again- it filled me with hope.

Just as I had expected, my pursuers quickly discovered of my absence and proceeded to trail me with an accuracy not far from that of a ninja hound. I didn't want to waste the nearly-emptied satchel I had obtained earlier, so I only I used my shuriken to fend off the many kunai aimed at me. Oddly enough, no more paper bombs were mixed in with the kunai. The only thing holding them back before was giving me a chance to escape, right? So why weren't they throwing paper bombs at me now? Man, these rogues were so weird...

As I fled, I could hear the sounds of their footsteps from behind gradually picking up in volume. I had reached my breaking point a _long_ time ago- the only thing that kept me going was the sunlight. Of course, I had no idea where I was going, but I had a hunch that I would eventually come across a village that could provide me with cover. However, I was rapidly slowing down, and I felt like I was on the verge of fainting...

It didn't look like I was going to reach a village anytime soon, so I desperately racked my brain for the hand signs necessary to complete the Shadow Clone Jutsu. Reminding myself that I didn't have much time before the rogues caught me, I resolved to weave all of the hand signs I could remember in random combinations. One clone... One clone was all I needed...

Much to my relief, a clone poofed next to me after only a short amount of time. Through my ragged breathing, I ordered it to lead my enemies as far away as it could before it was defeated. Immediately after the clone disappeared from sight, I dove into the nearest bush and awaited the persistent shinobi.

A jolt of fear ran through my body when I caught sight of them even though they didn't notice me in my hiding spot. Ruga scowled and whipped his head back and forth in an attempt to discern where I had run off to. "Where did she go?!" he growled. "We will _not_ lose her!"

Suddenly, one of Ruga's comrades gasped and pointed in the same direction my clone was headed. "I see her, boss! Over there! Quickly!"

Good... They bought it. In a heartbeat, all of the shinobi leaped onto the tree branches and continued in their fervent pursuit. Just to be safe, I waited a few minutes before I emerged from the bush and continued to stagger forward.

Soon, the forest abruptly ended and gave way to a wide, dirt road, leading to who-knew-where. But it had to lead to somewhere, right? Taking the road was really the only reasonable option at the moment, so I stumbled along the edge of the forest, my dizziness increasing with every step. My pounding head only amplified the pain of my wound from the explosion, and although I wanted nothing more than to curl up in a ball and pass out, I forced myself to stick to my journey.

Elation filled my entire being when a small, red house entered my line of vision. It appeared to be only fifty feet away- or was it a hundred? At this point, I couldn't tell anymore... I couldn't even keep myself going in a straight line. Summoning more energy I didn't even know I had, I focused all of my attention on making my way towards the house. Barely conscious, the only thing I could hear was the sound of blood pounding through my skull. When the house made up the majority of my blurry field of vision, the world suddenly twisted, and I found myself sprawled out across the ground. My entire body felt like it was made of lead, so when I tried to pick up my limbs once more, they wouldn't budge a single inch. Suddenly, but slowly, darkness started closing in, and the last thing I could remember before the blanket of darkness shrouded me was a movement by the entrance of the house.

* * *

_Was I... dead?_

No... Gradually, I could sense the feeling returning to my aching body. Eventually, I became aware of the fact that I was lying down on... something. It felt like a bed, but it was too comfortable to be the bed I was so familiar with. Suddenly, all the events prior to this moment tumbled into my mind, and restlessness started to grow within me. Where was I, and why was I here? More importantly, who brought me here? Were their intentions good, or bad?

My eyelids felt like heavy weights as I slowly opened my eyes. Almost immediately, I focused on a pair of blue ones staring intently back at me.

Merely a foot away, a guy who looked about my age knelt in front of the bed I was currently using, gripping a damp washcloth in his hands. Bangs of light brown hair framed his face, and the rest was drawn up into a long ponytail. Presuming from his innocent expression, I didn't deem him to be a threat... yet. It never hurt anyone to keep up their guard.

After a few seconds of regarding me, the guy's low voice pierced the silence. "Are you... alright?"

"Who are you?" I questioned. It didn't matter where I was if I was back in captivity.

The young man didn't show any signs of hurt or offense. "Just call me Karashi," he replied. "My mother and I found you unconscious out front, so we took you in. She was pretty worried about you."

I was pretty sure that I had never laid my eyes on this guy in my life until now. "You don't know me," I pointed out. "Why are you helping me?"

Karashi's blue eyes widened with confusion. "Do I need a reason to? We couldn't just leave you out there... You looked like you were on the verge of dying."

Because of the many horrid ordeals associated with my past, it was nearly impossible for me to accept that people were capable of helping others without some ulterior motive- but I could only see innocence as I examined the boy.

My confusion only grew when Karashi gently laid the damp washcloth on my forehead. If he didn't want anything from me, then why was he doing this?

I couldn't form any words to express my feelings of puzzlement, but Karashi didn't seem to expect any words from me. "You probably shouldn't get up today," he advised. "That's a pretty serious head wound you've got there. What in the world happened to you?"

His question drew my attention to my skull, and I became acutely aware of a throbbing pain centered on the left side of my head... where I had slammed into the wall from the explosion. "It was from a paper bomb," I murmured, flinching at the memory.

Karashi blinked as he processed my words. "Why were... people throwing paper bombs at you?"

Okay. The first time he had pried at my messed-up past, it was tolerable. But I wasn't about to readily share my life story with someone I didn't know for more than five minutes. How was I supposed to know if I could trust him?

"I don't really want to talk about it," I mumbled, casting my gaze to the ceiling. Why was this guy so curious, anyway?

"Alright, if you say so," said Karashi. I still couldn't wrap my head around how he was being so selfless, helping a stranger without wanting any form of payment in return. I had never been exposed to this aspect of the human nature... In fact, up until now, I would have sworn that people were incapable of putting aside their own desires in order to be generous to another.

Suddenly, a shrill voice interrupted my whirling thoughts. Although it was muffled, I could deduce that it belonged to an elderly lady. "Karaaashiiiiiii!" she called. "The curry's ready!"

Whipping his head towards the door, Karashi shouted, "Coming!" When he turned towards me once more, he wore a look of concern, and my stomach twisted with a feeling I couldn't identify. "I'll be right back," he promised. "Like I said before, you probably shouldn't leave the bed. My mother's curry will heal your injuries in no time."

Huh? Curry could heal injuries? I would only believe it if I witnessed it for myself. "...Sure," I replied. As my confusion heightened, my eyes followed the mysterious boy until he disappeared through the doorway.

After relishing in the silence for a few seconds, I slowly rose into a sitting position, trying to endure the resulting wave of dizziness that swept over me. When I looked down at my body, I quickly noticed that I wasn't clothed in my usual garb- someone had dressed me in a clean, simple tank top and shorts. All of this felt like a dream...

A moment later, Karashi returned with a plate of curry in his hands. His face reflected surprise when he regarded me already halfway off the bed, my legs dangling off the edge.

"Don't you know how badly you're injured?" he reminded me. "How can you even stay upright in your condition?"

"It's not that bad," I brushed him off. "I'm still alive. And besides, I can't stay here for very long... I'm probably being tracked down as we speak."

I knew I wasn't mistaken when I caught a flash of fear in Karashi's eyes, even when it vanished with the next second. A look of confidence replaced that fear, although there was something a little off about it.

"Don't worry about that," said Karashi. "If you really are being tracked down, I'll have no problem taking them out if they ever reach this place."

Inquisitively, I raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really?" Judging from his simple attire, I didn't deem him to be a shinobi.

Karashi nodded enthusiastically. "Heh, of course! I was once a part of the Kurosuki clan, you know."

His bragging tone suggested that this Kurosuki clan was prestigious, but I had never heard of it in my life. But then again... I _was_ cut off from the outside world for quite a while...

"Kurosuki clan?" I repeated.

Karashi seemed eager to explain at my ignorance. "Yeah. I'm not a part of it anymore, but when I was, we had full control over Katabami Kinzan, the village at the base of this mountain. Nobody could defy us."

That next unfamiliar name floated past my head like a cloud on a windy day. It probably wouldn't have helped if I kept on throwing out questions about villages foreign to me, so I resolved to think more generally. "Ahh. So, exactly what land am I in?"

Although the topic was straying from his clan, I could still detect traces of pride in Karashi's voice. "Kawa no Kuni, The Land of Rivers," he answered.

My eyes widened ever so slightly. The Land of Rivers? I could recall that I was somewhere in the Land of Earth, near my home village, when Ruga and his subordinates successfully captured me. To bring me all the way here, to a land bordering a completely different body of water... It was an incredible feat.

Trying to hide my surprise, I acknowledged his response with a nod. I knew that I wasn't far from the rogue ninja's hideout, so it would probably be for the best if I tried to put as much distance between me and them as possible. After devising a quick plan in my head, I decided that after recuperating for a while, I would flee the Land of Rivers- and hopefully for good.

Walking over to me, Karashi gently set the plate of curry in my lap. "Anyway, here... Eat this."

Warily, I peered down at the mound of black mush in front of me. I did admit that the aroma was appetizing, but I had a hunch that my weak stomach wouldn't be able to handle this amount of spice after three years of bland bread. I mean, I could barely hold onto my feast yesterday... Wait. Was that yesterday?

"How long was I out?" I blurted, my eyes flicking to him once more.

Karashi blinked, processing my sudden question. "All of yesterday and half of today," he replied.

Inwardly, I sighed with relief. So it _was _yesterday, then. I could have been unconscious for a lot longer, and that would have given Ruga more time to track me down. Even though I was fairly certain that he was still in pursuit of me, he didn't have much time to proceed very far. Yet.

Slowly, my eyes returned to the curry in my lap. Noticing my hesitation, Karashi gestured to the curry once more. "Don't worry... It'll make you feel better. Sansho made it really mild."

After much urging on his part, I finally consumed a portion of the curry. Of course, it tasted heavenly, and I did begin to feel invigorated, but I refused to eat more than half the plate- just as I had expected, my stomach wasn't handling it well. Karashi didn't seem to take the hint, however.

"You have to eat," he persisted. "How will you ever if you don't?"

By this point, this guy was really starting to tick me off. "Are you always this stubborn? I did eat- look at the plate!" I involuntarily leaned towards him as I raised my voice, earning a flinch from his part.

"What?" I questioned. Was I actually... intimidating? Although I guess I could consider myself to be a shinobi, I was a lousy one, at that. And then there was the fact that I was in a horrible condition. He had no reason to fear me, really.

"Nothing," said Karashi, averting his eyes to the side. My stare was probably on the verge of being considered rude, but that was the least of my worries at the moment. For someone who claimed that he was capable of easily defeating rogue ninja, he seemed to be easily frightened. What was up with that?

After a rather lengthy moment of silence, Karashi picked up the plate of curry once more with a sheepish smile. "Anyway... since you're, um, full, I guess I'll take this back to Sansho."

Was Sansho the elderly lady I heard earlier? And was it just my imagination, or was Karashi suddenly being all timid because of_ me?_ It didn't make sense...

Muttering a curt a thank-you, I watched him stride out of the room before a stronger wave of pain and dizziness hit me. Flinching and bringing up the washcloth to my head, I lowered myself back onto the bed and tried desperately to relax. Although my mind kept on drifting to Ruga and his followers, eventually, I somehow convinced myself that worrying wouldn't do me any good. If they discovered my location, there was nothing I could do about it; my wounds rendered me incapable of fighting back. So, the least I could do was hope to recover quickly and relish in the world of freedom while I still had the chance.


	3. Betrayal (Chapter Three)

_When I describe this chapter, I can only say the feels. Hehe, I had some trouble writing this one._

_Yay, Suigetsu finally comes into play! :D_

_If you review, you will make my day. (I promise.)_

_Disclaimer: Haha no._

* * *

Chapter Three

Over the course of the week, I remained mostly in my bed (or at least in my room), with Karashi coming in several times a day to either bring in curry or tend to my injuries. Oddly enough, the majority of his time was spent in my presence. At first, I was puzzled as to why he would willingly choose to stay with me. It certainly wasn't because of my "charisma", or my lack thereof. But over time, as Karashi revealed his personality, little by little I quickly figured out why he preferred to be with me.

Karashi was only trying to boost his ego... I was sure of it. Almost constantly, he bragged about his oh-so-great Kurosuki clan. Even though he was no longer a member, he talked about it so animatedly, as if the clan was_ his_. I did admit that it was kind of getting on my nerves, but finally establishing human contact- normal human contact- after being locked up in that hellhole for so long was so wonderful that it was more than tolerable.

And really, there was no reason for me to keep secrets from him. Although I had expected Karashi to reveal some sliver of immorality, he remained as pure as ever, and my view of him didn't change. As I got used to having him around, I slowly opened up to him and even shared with him the story of my horrid past one night. Besides, who would he tell, and how would they benefit from that sort of information? Karashi only lived with two others- his mother, Sansho, and his younger brother, Ranmaru. Even if he felt the need to tell them, it wouldn't threaten my safety in any way.

"...Wow," Karashi breathed after I had just finished relaying my torturous experience. "You really went through all of that?"

I raised an eyebrow as I fiddled with the threads of his bed sheets. "Why would I make it up and waste my time telling you? You're the very first to know about this."

Karashi, like usual, didn't show any signs of offense; I guess he got used to my personality. Instead, he laughed. "Of course... It's just hard to believe. I'm surprised you haven't gone crazy from all of that."

I wouldn't have been surprised if I already _had_ gone crazy. Laughing softly, I said, "Same here."

"I'm glad you found your way here," Karashi continued.

Well, of course I was, too... Why wouldn't I be? He brought me back from the brink of death, after all. But as I noticed a flicker of a hidden meaning in his blue eyes, I started to wonder why he would enjoy nursing me back to health.

"Why?" I inquired. "You had to spend so much of your time taking care of me while I couldn't do anything for you. I was basically dead weight."

Karashi's lips curled upwards in a small smile as he regarded me with a knowing look. "That's not true," he objected. "A few years ago, a good friend of mine taught me what the true meaning of strength was. I was lucky to meet someone like Lee..." He trailed off, probably recalling something from the past. I continued to look at him and waited for him to continue.

"Anyway," said Karashi, the same intense look returning to his eyes, "He taught me that real strength is finding the courage to not only protect yourself, but others, too. Now that you're here, I finally have something to protect- you."

I blinked as I processed his words, but I didn't have much time to come up with an answer... All of my attention was drawn to Karashi's arm, which was now circling around my waist.

Wait... What was happening? Up until now, I only thought that Karashi had friendly feelings toward me. That was certainly true in my case, at least...

Although it was barely detectable, a warm feeling started to spread throughout my body. Nobody had ever offered me protection before, and if they did, they eventually betrayed me sooner or later. But for Karashi to promise me safety after he had already done so much... I started to admire him.

"Karashi?" I murmured in surprise. Even though I was caught off guard by his behavior, I didn't try to move away from his hold. There wasn't any harm in hugging me, right?

"Kisara..." he murmured in turn. His tone was so different from before that I actually resisted the tendency to shy away at his unfamiliarity. But my gratitude for him outweighed any other emotion, so I was content with being wrapped in his embrace.

And even when Karashi leaned forward and softly pressed his lips against my cheek.

Because this sign of affection was so foreign to me, I had no idea how to react; I was only barely aware of a lingering warmth on my cheek when he pulled away. Confused and a little baffled, I could only look at him with wide eyes.

"You look like you've just seen a ghost," he joked. "Am I really that breathtaking?"

Ignoring that last part, I said, "It's just that... no one has ever kissed me before."

Karashi tilted his head ever so slightly, regarding me with an amused expression. "Seriously? Even with your past, I would think that you've been kissed many times considering how pretty you are."

It was just one thing after the other... I wasn't used to all of this romantic attention. "Thanks," I replied in an effort to disguise my growing feelings of awkwardness.

More time passed, and I finally had the leisure to practice my rusty skills as a ninja. Karashi accompanied me nearly everywhere I went (not that I really had anywhere to go besides his home) because he had nothing else better to do. But I didn't really mind... Despite all of his romantic attention, I only ever developed feelings of friendship for him.

As I'd expected, ninjutsu remained my weak point. I was able to figure out the hand signs for the basics, like Shadow Clone Jutsu and Transformation Jutsu, but any other water-style ones that I could pull off were so weak that even Karashi could stand through them without even doing anything. When I attempted to invest my time into strengthening those, however, I rapidly discovered the pointlessness of that idea. They weren't going to get any better.

But my other skills did.

My skills pertaining to ninja tools, that is. I had always been fond of using shuriken and kunai against my opponents, and it certainly showed in my proficiency of using them. Just like I had seen during my escape, those skills hadn't really weakened over the years. In fact, after only a week spent perfecting my abilities, I was able to nail every target Karashi placed in his backyard, no matter where the place.

"Wow," breathed Karashi after one such practice session. We were basking in the shade of a tree, and I felt extremely relaxed despite my exertion a few minutes ago.

"What?" I prodded, sending a small smile his way. "I swear you say that after every practice."

"I have a good reason," said Karashi. "You really suck at ninjutsu, so I never would have guessed that you'd be so good at this. You're basically a goddess."

I wasn't sure how to take that. "Um, thanks."

Laughing at my response, Karashi opened his mouth to say something else, but a crashing noise suddenly sounded from inside the house.

"Did Sansho knock over the pot again?" Karashi wondered. I quickly shot him a warning look to render him quiet; my intuition told me that this was caused by something... out of the ordinary.

After a few more seconds, another crash sounded from inside. This one was louder than the first, so my guard immediately shot up.

Slowly, I stood up from the cool grass, never keeping my eyes off of the house. After waiting for a long, silent moment, I quietly took a few steps forward.

After another moment, Karashi broke the silence. "What do you think-"

"Shh!" I cut him off. How much of an idiot did he have to be to speak at a time like this?

Once I waited another moment, I took a few more steps toward the house. There was something fishy about this situation, and if I could just peek through the window-

Bringing my thoughts to a halt, the back door suddenly burst open. I immediately zipped back towards Karashi, but once I focused on the sight before me, my muscles nearly froze all together.

The leader of the trio, the leader I so despised and feared, stepped forward and gave me a chilling smile.

"I finally found you," said Ruga. "I was afraid that we'd never see each other again."

* * *

My thoughts weren't short of a whirlpool at the moment, but I knew that I had to focus on the immediate threat if I had another chance at escape. "How did you find me?" I questioned. There was nothing that could have given me away... was there?

That sneer remained plastered onto Ruga's face, and I resisted the urge to spit at him. "Simple," he replied. "I have spies scattered across the Land of Rivers. It was only a matter of time before they discovered this place."

Recalling the crashing noises, my anger spiked. "What did you do to Sansho and Ranmaru?" They were the sweetest people I had ever come across, and they definitely didn't deserve any amount of pain... my stomach wrenched just at the thought of it.

My question was answered when his sneer grew. Giving him the scariest glare I could manage, I reached for the satchel around my waist.

Of course, Ruga remained unfazed. He only _really_ lost his temper when I did something extreme... like escaping. "There's no need to fight, Kisara," he said. "If your little friend there will turn you in quietly, there will be no trouble."

Karashi... I had almost forgotten he was there. I allowed myself a small glance behind me and took in the sight of him cowering on the ground, his eyes wide in fear. Ugh... What happened to him vowing to protect me?

One of Ruga's subordinates stepped towards Karashi with a scowl, and the latter cowered even further. "T-Take her," Karashi stammered. "Just take her and leave me alone."

I couldn't _believe_ him! Here I was, standing fearlessly in the face of the enemy, while all he could do was tremble on the ground. How was I ever fooled by his facade of courage? If I had figured out anything during my time with him, it was that his supposed "love" for me was fake as well. It was not like I was heartbroken or anything; I had developed no romantic feelings for him. But that definitely didn't prevent the feeling of disgust from welling up inside of me.

In the end, I was right as usual... people weren't capable of providing generosity without having some sort of ulterior motive.

_There's no one I can trust,_ I thought. Pushing away my feelings of hopelessness, I grabbed as many shuriken as I could hold and flicked them towards my enemies. My actions were almost robotic, so I wasn't surprised when my opponents deflected the shuriken without difficulty.

"Don't think you're getting away from me this time," Ruga warned. Before I had a chance to respond, he weaved signs at the speed of lightning and muttered, "Fire Style: Flame Flower."

I did the only thing I could think of when it came to a water attack: cancel it out with water. Allowing my reflexes to take over, I weaved signs for the strongest water jutsu I could remember. My jutsu activated just as three giant balls of fire came hurtling at me, but it did little to no good- compared to Ruga's, my jutsu was pathetic. I realized this and jumped back with one of the fireballs narrowly missing my leg.

Damn... That was definitely the wrong move. As Ruga let out an unsettling laugh, I tried to ignore my aching muscles from the recent training. _He's toying with me,_ I thought. _I have to pull myself together._ Instead of wasting more shuriken, I hurriedly summoned a thin sword from a scroll on my waist. The chances of holding my own with those three were slim, but at least it would prevent them from weaving more hand signs...

Paying close attention to my movements, I lunged towards Ruga and engaged him in a close-combat fight. Of course, his sidekicks also joined in, but their taijutsu skills were inexperienced enough to allow me to focus most of concentration on Ruga. Although I managed to land a few blows on him, the futility of the fight started to get to me. The chances of me emerging victorious were close to zero, so I had to look for an opening to escape…

Eventually, the three rogues succeeded in cornering me against the house. My chakra levels were dangerously low, and they had given me no opportunities to go on the offensive for a while. Would I lose? Would my escape ultimately mean nothing?

...No. Only over my dead body would I ever end up back in their hideout.

Lunging at Ruga once again, I faked an attack and suddenly feigned to the right, shoving away his two surprised minions. I used this window of opportunity to dash across the backyard and around the house, knowing fully well that they would be on my tail in a few seconds. As I allowed myself a glance through the window, I couldn't spot Sansho or Ranmaru anywhere. But I couldn't think about their safety now- I had more pressing matters to focus on...

Just as I had expected, Ruga soon wheeled around the corner with an expression that could only be described as horrendous. As I reached the main road and headed for Katabami Kinzan in the distance, I focused chakra into my feet to give me a burst of speed. I couldn't dwell on my pursuers right now, or I would falter in my steps... I had to concentrate on reaching the village and finding somewhere to hide.

The next half hour felt like it was stretched out into the timespan of several days. Aside from my burning legs and lungs, the constant fear of Ruga catching up threatened to overwhelm me. He nearly did a few times... The only reason I eluded his grasp was due to the brief moment of surprise from earlier. I could deflect every kunai or paper bomb with ease, but the real challenge was manifested in the running. The pressure of capture forced me to sprint the entire way to Katabami Kinzan, and I wouldn't have been surprised if my legs had fallen off.

Eventually, however, I was able to reach the village without any interference from Ruga. Innocent bypassers openly gawked at me as I dashed through the crowded streets, but I couldn't care less at the moment. All the shops were open-door ones that offered me no form of protection, so I continued to run until I reached a yogurt shop. Throwing open the door, I sprinted inside and frantically scanned the room for an empty seat.

With a rush of relief, I spotted a promising booth and proceeded to run towards it without any regard for the people around me.

A young man occupied the booth, fiddling with a spoon halfway in his mouth. He had straight, white hair with a light blue tint that barely reached past his chin. He seemed to be pondering over something, so I felt a small pang of guilt when I threw myself into the booth across from him, breathing heavily.

The guy jolted back in surprise. "Huh? Who-"

I put a finger to my lips. "Don't... ask now. Just play... along." I whipped my head around the booth when I heard footsteps rapidly approaching. "...They're coming! Quickly! Act normal!"

The guy's expression remained the same, but he said nothing. Not wasting any time, I weaved a few hand signs and muttered, "Transformation Jutsu."

My body didn't physically change, but a blonde pigment slowly spread throughout my long, chestnut hair until not one speck of brown was to be found. I couldn't see this part of the transformation, but I knew from personal experience that my eyes slowly faded into a pale blue color instead of my natural bright green. Well... At least, I hoped It did. Because the only other time I had performed it was once with Karashi, there was a strong chance that my transformation had some flaws. Merely a second later, my three pursuers hurtled around the corner and screeched to a stop in front of the booth I occupied.

Ruga spoke, and I resisted the urge to shiver from the sound of his voice. "We're looking for a young woman the age of seventeen. She just came running in here, and she has long brown hair and green eyes. This is urgent! Tell us if you've seen her, and you will be rewarded."

The guy's eyes showed a subtle flicker of understanding, and I fought to maintain a blank facial expression. God, I really hoped he wouldn't rat me out... If he did, I would have to return to the previous hell I was living in. Just the thought of it made me want to cringe.

After a few seconds, to my surprise, the guy across from me chuckled. "Oooooh, a brunette? I wish I had seen her. Maybe I should go looking for her... Right, sis?"

It took me a few seconds to realize that he was referring to me. Hiding my surprise, I rolled my eyes. "Jeez... You need to stop being such a player, bro."

Apparently, the trio of rogue ninja had run out of patience by this point. Directing nothing but a growl at us, they stalked away without another glance.

Smirking, the guy remarked, "You're a really bad actor, you know."


	4. Formation (Chapter Four)

_Disclaimer: I own Kisara... That's about it. I _wish _I owned Suigetsu._

_Feel free to leave a review! ;)_

* * *

Chapter Four

Ignoring his comment, I waited a good, long minute before I even dared to utter another word. The whole time, he regarded me with a raised eyebrow, obviously expecting me to explain myself.

Sighing, I released the Transformation Jutsu, my natural color of brown fading back into my hair and my eyes returning to their original pigment of green. Judging from what just happened, my transformation had probably gone well. "Sorry to trouble you," I apologized. "I think I'll stay here for a while... just to be safe."

Still fiddling the spoon with his sharp teeth, he regarded me speculatively. As I stared back, I suddenly noticed that he had purple eyes. What an unusual color... It almost looked unnatural.

For a minute, I let myself relax, sinking into the cushioned seats of the booth. I _did_ feel a little awkward just sitting silently there with a stranger, but my blood was too full of adrenaline for me to really care. I just felt relieved that I had finally escaped from that torture.

A moment later, the guy set the spoon on the table with a soft _click _and spoke. "So what's your name?"

"...Kisara," I answered. This was probably the last time I would ever see him... Why would he want to know who I was? Just to be polite, I inquired, "And yours?"

"Suigetsu," he stated with a grin. "Nice to meet you, Kisara."

I nodded in response, and Suigetsu continued to speak. "Why were you running from those rogues?"

I looked back at him warily. This was the very thing I was afraid of... If I told one wrong person about my large chakra reserve, then it could potentially result in my imprisonment. I didn't know if I could trust this guy...

After a long pause on my part, Suigetsu's grin widened. "Hey, that's not fair... I didn't rat you out, so you owe me."

Reminding myself that this was probably the last time I would ever see him, I finally consented after a sigh. "I was held captive by them for years, and I only escaped recently."

"Interesting," he remarked. "Rogues would only keep a long-term hostage if there was a good reason. What's so special about you, then?"

Puffing out a breathe of air, I remained silent.

"You're so boring," Suigetsu teased. "I'm just curious... That's all."

"If you're only curious, then it shouldn't be a big deal."

"Well, now I'm _really_ interested," he whined. "You still owe me, remember?"

"I already told you why I was running from those rogues." This guy was increasingly starting to get on my nerves...

After a short pause, Suigetsu spoke again with a more serious expression. "I can relate... I was once held captive and experimented on by Orochimaru."

Seriously? He was one of Orochimaru's experiments? "Why?"

A knowing look returned to Suigetsu's expression. "Why should I tell you when you haven't told me anything, hmm?"

After observing him for a few seconds, I gave in to his pressure. His interest only seemed to stem from his personality, anyway. "Well... I have a rather large chakra reserve," I explained. "It's a pretty simple concept to understand. They wanted to take my chakra for their own use."

"Oh. Of course," Suigetsu replied. He returned the spoon in between his sharp teeth, resuming to concentrate over something yet again.

So after all that urging on his part, _that's _all he had to say? I started to wonder how anyone could put up with a person like him for more than a day.

After a few more moments, he broke the silence once more. "I've been thinking... I could use the extra competition, and... hmm..." He trailed off, becoming mute for the second time.

Almost hesitantly, I inquired, "What is it?"

His purple eyes seemed to be scrutinizing me as he spoke. "I've been thinking," he repeated. "Because of your large chakra reserve, you must get targeted a lot, right?"

What was he getting at? "Yes," I confirmed.

"Heh, heh..." He suddenly chuckled. "And have you heard of Sasuke Uchiha?"

Who _didn't_ know who Sasuke Uchiha was? He was a greatly-feared rogue who had abandoned the Leaf Village four years ago to join Kabuto Yakushi and Orochimaru. And wasn't he the only Uchiha left besides his brother? Suigetsu's facial expression told me that he knew that I had already acquired this information.

"Of course I do," I said. "Didn't he kill Orochimaru?"

"Yeah," Suigetsu replied. "He took all the glory, but I could have easily done it myself. Anyway, that's not the point. I was thinking that you could tag along with me and my team for a while... I need the extra practice."

What? He wanted me to go with him? I just barely met him not half an hour ago! With his unique looks and strange personality, he definitely was eccentric. "No, thanks," I decided. "I don't have any interests in joining a group when I'm constantly being stalked."

Suigetsu sighed, bringing his right leg up and resting his elbow on his knee. "That's exactly why I need you to come," he persisted. "That's also what I mean by extra practice. Sure, people will track you down, but if you're with me and my team, we'll easily take them out. I like a little competition." He winked.

Wasn't this guy a little on the arrogant side? It _was_ extremely difficult to elude my pursuers, but would his affiliation really be willing to take me in? I would bring them a hell of a lot of trouble...

"Maybe," I decided.

Suigetsu's complexion lit up a hundred-fold as if I had wholeheartedly agreed to join him. "Come on... It would be so much easier for you."

"I don't excel in ninjutsu," I admitted, "but I'm an amateur at using ninja tools.."

"I told you, that's not the reason I want to recruit you," Suigetsu continued with an exasperated tone. "You wouldn't have to do anything if you didn't want to... I don't really care."

After drumming my fingers on the table and thinking about it for a minute or two, I finally met his eyes again. "Fine," I reluctantly agreed. His team would provide me with protection... If they were skilled. I would attempt that kind of lifestyle for a while... If it wasn't to my liking, then I would sneak away and go live on my own like I used to.

Suigetsu smirked, a stray tooth poking out of his mouth. "Good choice, Kisara."

I felt like rolling my eyes; this guy was kind of unbelievable. Who would want someone around just for _competition?_ At least this would hopefully benefit me...

Ironically, as Suigetsu rose from his seat (whoa... He was at least 5 inches taller than me), a waitress approached our booth and smiled politely, eyeing Suigetsu's empty yogurt bowl and my bare portion of the table.

Addressing me, she asked, "Would you like anything to eat, miss?"

"No, thanks." I stood up as well, ignoring her small look of surprise as I followed Suigetsu out of the yogurt shop.

After being stressed for so long, I finally took the time to relish the feel of the warm sun's rays on my skin. It was very warm outside, but a small breeze compensated for the heat. When I tilted my head up and let the wind caress my face, I noticed that the sky was a clear, vibrant blue. I had missed this for so long... Although I had plenty of opportunities to go outside with Karashi, I definitely wasn't going to take this for granted anytime soon.

Clearing his throat, Suigetsu pulled me away from my thoughts and beckoned me to follow him. As he strolled down the gravel path of whatever small village we were presently in, I kept my gaze fixed on the sight of his straight, white hair. What were the chances of me running into this person and then committing to a life with him for who knew how long?

Eventually, we reached a building labeled _Mochi Hotel_. After climbing two sets of stairs, Suigetsu stopped in front of a door at the end of the hall. "Sasuke? It's me... Let me in."

I stiffened as soon as I heard him say Sasuke's name. I _was_ wondering why Suigetsu asked me if I knew about the Uchiha and how that inquiry was of any relevance to his team..

"You didn't tell me Sasuke was on your team!" I whispered angrily.

Suigetsu blinked, a blank form of surprise forming on his countenance. "What? That's why I mentioned Sasuke, you... Wow. You couldn't figure that out?"

Well, I figured that out _now_. He didn't directly state that he was Sasuke's teammate... He really could have been a little clearer!

A young man's voice drifted to us from the inside of the room. "Suigetsu, what's going on over there? Come in."

At this point, I was seriously having some pretty big doubts about joining up with Sasuke. He was one of the mostly feared ninja in the shinobi world, and I was about to become his comrade? No, thanks.

Taking a step back, I smiled apologetically. "You know what? I have second thoughts..."

"Oh, no, you don't," Suigetsu said defiantly. Opening the door, he shouted, "Nothing! I'll be right there!" Before I could do anything to avoid him, Suigetsu's fingers closed around my wrist, and he tugged me inside.

Why, why, why? _Why_ was I always forced to do something against my will? I knew I shouldn't have been complaining because this situation wasn't nearly as bad as my last one, but this one involved _Sasuke Uchiha._

The greatly-feared rogue sat nonchalantly in an armchair in front of a TV, which was oddly not turned on. He looked just like he did on the countless number of WANTED signs I had seen before... His spiky, raven colored hair framed dark, onyx eyes, and he wore a light-colored robe. Unusually, his expressionless mask didn't waver when he saw me trail behind Suigetsu into the room.

"Who is she?" he asked bluntly.

"Her name is Kisara," Suigetsu replied. "You can sense her chakra, right?"

Sasuke confirmed his answer with a slight nod of the head. "Why did you bring her here?"

Suigetsu cracked a grin. "It's been so boring lately... We haven't fought anyone _worth_ fighting in such a long time. I mean, we need to train, right? She said that ninja often try to capture her so they can take her large amount of chakra, and if she joins our group, we'll have a lot of opportunities to fight. We'll become stronger."

While he made his proposition, I stood next to him awkwardly and desperately hoped that Sasuke would refuse Suigetsu's offer. There wasn't anything holding me back from bolting for it, but Sasuke's presence alone had such an authoritarian aura that running away seemed almost... against the rules. But if I joined Sasuke's group, would that technically make me a rogue ninja, even though I probably wouldn't do anything? If that would be so, it would be kind of ironic, seeing as I had been despising rogue ninja for the majority of my life.

Before Sasuke uttered a response, another girl whom I presumed to also be a part of his team stalked into the room. Long, red hair framed her face, and when she laid her matching-colored eyes on Suigetsu and me, I could see them narrow through her glasses. It was almost like she wasn't expecting anyone besides Sasuke to be present.

After glazing her eyes over me, she directed her scowl towards Suigetsu. "Hmph. What're _you _doing here? I thought you and Jugo were going to explore the village on our day off."

Suigetsu sighed, his annoyance with the girl apparent at first glance. "A few hours ago, Jugo wanted to be left alone, so he disappeared into the forest bordering the village," he explained. "You know how he is with nature and all that stuff. He also probably wanted to be alone so he wouldn't hurt anyone nearby if one of his urges took over him."

"Okay, okay, I get it," the girl said impatiently, waving Suigetsu off. "But that still doesn't explain why you brought _her _with you." Her eyes flicking towards me, she jabbed a finger in my direction.

"She has a _name,_ you know," he pointed out, his frown deepening. "She's Kisara, and she might become a new member of Hebi. Apparently, rogue ninja track her down because of her large chakra reserve, and if she joins our team, we'll have lots of opportunities to fight because of that. We'll-"

"What's the good in that?!" the girl interrupted. "That's just asking for trouble!"

"Jeez... Calm down, Karin," said Suigetsu. "Hear me out, okay? The fighting will be like training for us. If we fight often, we'll get stronger."

Karin did not look convinced as she rested a hand on her hip. "That... Was the most. Retarded. Idea. I have ever heard. And every idea you come up with is retarded!"

Although the girl looked at me as if I was garbage, I wasn't complaining at all. I didn't want to become a part of this team, anyway. If it wasn't composed of rogues, then sure. But this group didn't exactly meet with my expectations... and the leader was Sasuke. _Sasuke Uchiha._ So as long as I didn't become a member of this team, I didn't really care what happened.

"Yeah, right!" Suigetsu spat. "The only reason you don't like my idea is because you don't want _competition_ for your _Sasuke_."

"W-What?!" Karin stuttered, suddenly feeling the need to fiddle with her glasses. "How did you come up with something as stupid as that? I-I'm only against your idea because... it's retarded!"

Suigetsu smirked, showing off his sharp teeth. "Just as I thought. Another girl on the team would lower your chances of winning Sasuke over, wouldn't it?"

"No way! Just SHUT UP!" Karin exploded.

Resting his elbows on the arms of his armchair, Sasuke laced his fingers together in front of his blank complexion. "Enough, you two. The amount of chakra doesn't matter unless she also possesses skill. Don't be so selfish, Suigetsu. She won't help me achieve my goal. Stop making unnecessary complications."

Suigetsu frowned, while Karin visibly relaxed. "Come on, Sasuke," he urged. "The only reason I joined your team was because you agreed to let me find Kubikiribocho. If Kisara can indirectly make me stronger, then I will gladly take that chance so I can eventually collect all of the swords of the Seven Swordsman of the Mist. Then, I'll reform the group and become their leader." Hope and excitement danced in his amethyst eyes.

Sasuke remained unimpressed. "Don't chase a dream that can't be turned into a reality," he said disapprovingly. "Unlike mine, your dream cannot be achieved. Don't waste your time on such impossible obligations."

Relieved that I wasn't going to team up with the Sharingan user, I let out a puff of air I hadn't realized I was holding. Suigetsu's dreamy gaze hardened immediately as he glared at Sasuke.

"You can be a real pain in the ass sometimes, you know," he spit out.

"I'm realistic," was Sasuke's reply. "I won't allow the girl to join Hebi... She will be a burden. That's my final decision. Now go get rid of her."

So his team name was _Hebi_, or snake? That name only reinforced the image that Sasuke was a bad guy. Despite Sasuke's harsh words, however, I felt satisfied about his decision; I definitely did not want to team up with rogues.

Suigetsu's eyes seemed to throw daggers at Sasuke. "Fine. She won't join team Hebi, but neither will I. I'll leave and go with Kisara... I guess it comes to that."

...What.

I thought his threat would positively faze Sasuke, but it did anything but that. "Fine with me," Sasuke muttered. "I can always recruit someone else."

..._WHAT?_

I swiveled towards Suigetsu, a look of astonishment forming on my face. "Are you kidding? That's taking it way too far! Just because I'm tracked down often doesn't mean that you have to follow me so you can put yourself at risk. I don't even_ know_ you." This guy really _was _crazy.

"So?" said Suigetsu. "I won't pass up an opportunity that will increase my chances of retrieving the swords! Besides... Team Hebi hasn't done anything interesting lately. Staying with Sasuke and the others isn't doing anything for me."

Karin's lips curled up in a demonic smile. "I can't believe this is happening," she said, her voice wavering with happiness. "I've been waiting for this moment since forever! I hope I never see you again, you water-loving piece of shit!"

Where would we even go? And what would I do? My mind wasn't short of a whirlpool at the moment, so I couldn't form any words. While I was groping for something to say, Sasuke spoke to Suigetsu. "Make your decision," the former ordered. "If you're staying, then get the girl out. If you're leaving, take her with you and make it quick."

"Hmph. Well, I guess this is it, then," Suigetsu decided with an indifferent shrug. Sasuke didn't so much as move an inch, and his obsidian eyes continued to bore through me. Ignoring my bewildered protests, Suigetsu grabbed my wrist and pulled me rather forcefully out of the hotel room.

He didn't stop tugging me until we exited the building. Once I was finally released from his grip, I could only stare and gape at him. "What the hell?!" I exclaimed. "Why in the world would you ever do that? Do you realize what you've just done? I'm pretty sure you can't go back on your word with someone like Sasuke! What am I going to do now? Oh, no..."

As I was experiencing a mental breakdown, Suigetsu merely smirked and rolled his eyes. "Just relax, Kisara. I don't regret my choices. I know what I'm doing."

"But I'm not even going anywhere in particular! I was just running from Ruga- I mean, those rogue ninja- and I needed to hide anywhere. I think I'm safe now, so I really don't have anywhere to go."

Suigetsu waved me off. "That doesn't change anything. I'll find out where the other six swords from the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist are and take you with me when I'm finding them." He motioned to the large sword strapped to his back, which I assumed to be one of those swords involved in his goal. "Rogues will try and take you for your chakra along the way; I will fight them and get stronger in the process; and I will finally reach my dream..." The same look of hope that I saw earlier shown in his eyes again.

"So I'm just bait, then," I stated through gritted teeth.

My anger heightened when Suigetsu kept on smirking that_ annoying_ smirk. "Aww, don't think of yourself as 'bait'... Just think of me as your bodyguard."

My anger didn't subside at all, and I heavily laced my words with sarcasm. "Yeah. A bodyguard that _deliberately puts me in danger._"

Suigetsu sighed, but he continued to exhibit a carefree mood. "C'mon, Kisara. Lighten up. It'll be fun... You'll see. You won't even have to do anything."

For some reason, his tone of voice made me slightly uneasy. "You're the strangest guy I've ever met," I muttered.

Unfazed by my comment, Suigetsu flashed his sharp teeth at me in a grin. "Cool. I can't wait to start... I'm itching for a good fight."


	5. A New Mission (Chapter Five)

_Disclaimer: The answer is no._

_Oh, my... Is that romance I see? Or is it Suigetsu just being... Suigetsu?_

_Reviews are currently my favorite things. Just saying. :)_

* * *

Chapter Five

Just as the sun was setting, we found a quaint hotel that would suffice for the time being. My mind was still swirling, and the amount of unanswered questions I had for Suigetsu was enormous, but I resolved to save them for later. After listening to his to-do list, I inferred that we would be together for a long time, so I would have plenty of opportunities to interrogate him.

"One room," Suigetsu requested, taking out a small coin purse and pouring some coins onto the counter of the lobby. Unnervingly, the amount of money was only barely sufficient enough to play for the room. When the person behind the front desk gave us our key, I eyed the nearly-emptied coin purse in Suigetsu's hands.

"Why are we getting a hotel room when you're nearly broke?" I questioned as we proceeded making our way down to our room on the second floor. "We could've... I don't know... slept in a nearby forest or something."

Suigetsu sighed. "Money's the least of my worries. I get money from other people easily... That's how I got all of my money when I was joined up with Sasuke."

It bugged me how he was able to discuss stealing so nonchalantly, but I remained silent as we reached our room and opened the door. I could tell that a long journey laid before me, so I resolved to get as much sleep as possible.

...And there was only one bed. Of course... I should have seen that coming.

A faint trace of a bitter smirk made its way into my expression, for I was about to spend a night (and many more in the future) with a guy I had only met a few hours ago. And not only that, but I was basically dedicating my life to him for who knew how long.

Despite my vibes of awkwardness, Suigetsu acted as if we were close friends having a sleepover. Kicking off his shoes, he flopped down on the left side of the queen-sized bed and rested his head on his arms, thoughtfully regarding the ceiling. Based on his actions thus far, it seemed like he spent most of his time either lost deep in thought or showing off his supposedly-awesome skills. It seemed like we were polar opposites.

Noting that this could possibly be the last chance to take a shower for a long time, I temporarily left Suigetsu to his own devices and took a short shower.

About ten minutes later, I turned off the shower and picked up my clothes from the floor. Ugh... Would I have to sleep in these? It's not like I wasn't used to sleeping in them... That was basically all I did when Ruga held me captive. Still, I thought it would be refreshing to sleep in something else for once. Just as I unhooked the satchel of shuriken from my pants, a plain, white robe folded on the counter caught my attention. Breathing a sigh of relief, I gratefully slipped it on and made up my mind to look for a new outfit in one of the dressers in the main room.

As soon as I opened the bathroom door, a flash of movement to my left caught my attention. In the nick of time, I discovered that it was a shuriken zipping towards me. Luckily, my reflexes kicked in at the last moment, and I jerked myself to the side. Merely a second later, the shuriken pinned itself to the wall with a thud. A flash of realization told me that the shuriken could have made contact with my head instead if I hadn't jumped out of the way.

And it quickly became pretty apparent to me where the shuriken came from.

"Why the hell did you do that?!" I shouted, glaring at the man lounging on the bed. The fact that he wore an expression of boredom only fueled the flames of my anger.

"I was just seeing if your reflexes are really as rusty as you say," Suigetsu answered. "Since you'll be in a lot of fights in the future... you know?"

"No, I _don't_ know! What you did was completely unnecessary. You're acting like you didn't do anything wrong! What if I wasn't able to dodge the shuriken in time?"

Suigetsu lowered his gaze to a spot on the bed as if he was set on examining the individual threads in the comforter. "I guess I was taking a chance there," he nonchalantly replied. Suddenly, his eyes flicked up to me with such intensity that I almost jumped in surprise. When he spoke once more, he sounded almost... mocking. "But I'm not all at fault here, aren't I?"

"What? Of course you are!"

At my retort, Suigetsu's amusement seemed to grow. "You said that you couldn't really do much because of your imprisonment, but that dodge couldn't have been any better. Are you sure you aren't lying to me?"

"No! Why would I?" So what if my reflexes weren't complete mediocre? My training sessions with Karashi didn't hone my reflexes at all, so I had the satisfaction of knowing that the latter hadn't been much affected by my imprisonment.

"Ninja lie all the time," he claimed. "I have no reason to believe that you're not."

Oh, he didn't trust me? How ironic, considering the fact that I had no one I could trust. And I could _definitely _relate when he implied that I had an ulterior motive.

"Well, you keep on believing that. I'm not one to lie." He didn't respond, but I could feel his eyes on me as I shuffled to the wardrobe and picked out comfortable night-wear. But after I changed? I headed straight for the couch at the foot of the bed.

Because under no circumstances was I going to sleep in the same bed as a guy who threw a shuriken at my face just to _test my reflexes._

Apparently, Suigetsu wasn't expecting my attitude. "Are you really going to be like that?" he questioned with a sigh. "I'm not going to molest you, you know."

"I wouldn't put it past you." I knew I was being catty- if he actually wanted to do something like molest me, the small distance from the bed to the couch wouldn't stop him. But still… the notion of sleeping in the same bed as him gave me shivers- probably because of his strange and mysterious vibe.

"Fine… suit yourself," said Suigetsu.

I made no response, and after turning off the lights, I sprawled out on the couch.

After a minute of trying to fall asleep, Suigetsu's soft voice broke the silence.

"Kisara, why are you so pissed off at me?"

"Gee, I wonder why."

"I was telling the truth, you know. About seeing what your reflexes were like."

Telling the truth or not, he still threw a shuriken at my face. "You could have killed me."

His short laugh filled the air. "Oh, I really doubt that." After a moment of silence, his next words startled me. "I notice a lot of things, Kisara… I can tell that we're very alike."

That idea was so sudden and out-of-context that I could only ponder about it before finally falling asleep.

* * *

When I woke up the next morning, a soft blanket was draped around my body. The person behind the act was undoubtedly Suigetsu- he was probably trying to ask for forgiveness or something, but it was still naive of him. Nonetheless, my anger had already ebbed, and all that remained was a slight annoyance for his behavior last night.

Groggily, I sat up and peered over the bed frame. My eyes rested on Suigetsu oddly sleeping without any covers. If I hadn't met him yesterday and been exposed to his snarky attitude, I almost would have thought that he looked... innocent. Intrigued and somewhat fascinated by this spectacle, my gaze shifted to the bangs of light hair partially obscuring his closed eyes. Now that I thought about it, his eyes _and _hair were pretty unusual...

It wasn't like me at all, but I somehow became absorbed in my observation and lost track of time. After a while, I realized with a jolt that at some point, Suigetsu had opened his eyes and returned my gaze.

A smirk formed on his lips as he sat up. "You were watching me sleep, weren't you?"

I immediately turned away from him and frowned. "No way. I just woke up."

Suigetsu completely disregarded my comment as if I hadn't said anything. "You had this dazed look on your face... am I really that hot?"

I didn't even know why I had been looking at him for that long... this guy was already messing up my life. "Well..." I answered with the first excuse I could come up with. "You were staring at me, too."

Suigetsu jumped off the bed and flashed me a lazy grin. "Well, yeah. Unlike you, I'll admit to checking out an attractive girl."

Once again, I quickly looked away as an unfamiliar and uncomfortable heat spread over my face. That comment shouldn't have even gotten to me... he only wanted me to forgive him for the shuriken incident.

"I can't admit to something I don't believe," I hastily replied as I began to gather my few possessions. When I dared to glance back at Suigetsu, his smile told me that he thought otherwise.

After grabbing a bite to eat down in the lobby, Suigetsu and I visited a few general stores and used up the last of his money to stock up on food. I still wondered how we were going to find more money, but he shrugged me off and acted like it was no big deal. Just like everything else.

"Do you at least know our next destination?" I stiffly demanded. Ever since the shuriken incident, my impression of Suigetsu had been dropping lower and lower.

He absentmindedly kicked a people along our path, sending it skittering to the side. "Of course," he replied. "I'm planning on finding the twin swords, Kiba, which are in Konoha."

Surprisingly, I actually knew about the twin swords from Karashi. Thinking about him after he betrayed me caused a sharp pain in my chest, but he did provide me with useful information... in more ways than one. According to him, the leader of the cult that took over Katabami Kinzan wielded Kiba before some Konoha ninja swooped in and saved the day.

But were we really going to set off for Konoha _now?_ The Land of Rivers did border the Land of Fire, but we were still in two separate countries. "We can't just waltz into Konoha and take Kiba," I pointed out. "The swords are the property of Konoha now. And besides... aren't you classified as a rogue?"

"Heh... I guess you could call me that. But I have a plan."

It seemed like he always had a secret plan. "Well, what is it? If we're going to team up, you need to tell me these things."

Before responding, Suigetsu grabbed my wrist and sharply turned into a quiet area behind a shop. Stopping and facing me with an excited gleam in his eye, he said, "We're going to pose as ninja from Kirigakure."

* * *

"What?"

"You said it yourself... we can't just walk in and take their swords as we are. That's why we're going to-" he formed quotation marks with his fingers. "-go on a mission. You get me?"

I pondered over his words for a moment. "So, what you're saying is that we're going to _pretend_ to be Kirigakure ninja."

He nodded.

"Supposedly on a mission from "our" Mizukage."

He nodded again.

Ugh... why did I even agree to tag along with him? I wanted to _distance_ myself from rogues, and _becoming _one wasn't much better at all.

"Suigetsu, I really don't think I should do this," I confessed, looking him straight in the eye. "When you offered to team up, it sounded intriguing. I thought I could use the extra protection. But this... this is going too far. I'm not going to become a rogue ninja for the sake of your precious swords. I'm not like you."

For the first time, I had the honor of taking Suigetsu by surprise. His expression flickered, and it looked like I had rendered him at a loss for words. But it only lasted a second, and it was soon replaced with an annoyed frown.

"You can't do that," he said in an almost childish tone.

"Um, why not?"

"I promised you protection _and _abandoned Taka for you! You didn't even have to do anything… you only needed to tag along. You'd have to be pretty stupid to refuse an awesome offer like that."

"Maybe," I admitted, "but you're not telling me all the parts of the deal."

He raised an eyebrow. "What are you saying?"

"Don't play dumb with me… I've had my suspicions about you from the start. First, you try to recruit me into your team without telling me about Sasuke Uchiha, the most notorious rogue in the shinobi world, then you almost kill me with a shuriken, and now this. Oh, and that's all in two days, too. Forgive me for having my doubts, _Hozuki-sama._"

Suigetsu's scowl deepened as he folded his arms in irritation. "I know some things might seem a little weird," he explained (to which I laughed dryly and rolled my eyes), "but it'll be worth it for both of us… you'll see." When I didn't spit out a snarky response, his expression grew softer- something I would have never expected from him. "I give you freedom, and you give me competition. And tell you what- I'll even let you carry and fight with Kiba once we get them."

...I did tell him about my preoccupation with ninja tools, didn't I?

"And I won't just be following you everywhere?" I asked.

His usual smirk made its way into his expression, although it looked a little wary. "Deal… We'll be comrades on equal terms now. If I had known that you were so feisty, I could've saved myself all this trouble."

"Compared to you, I'm nothing."

"See? You're only proving my point."

* * *

Despite Suigetsu's insisting on leaving as soon as possible, we ended up lingering around Katabami Kinzan (the random village I used for cover _was _Katabami Kinzan, much to my luck) for a few more days and using Suigetsu's "connections" to prepare us for our fake mission. The more I hung around him, the more I realized just how feared he was throughout the shinobi world. His connections consisted mostly of lowly ninja who, when in his presence, referred to him as _Kijin no Sairai, _the Second Coming of the Demon.

Considering his underlings' great respect and his arrogance, Suigetsu must have had pretty advanced skills. But I had yet to see what he could do.

And I also had yet to see of Ruga.

The entire day after my encounter with him, my nerves were on end. Every time I set foot outside, my eyes were constantly roaming for the familiar face I saw in my nightmares. But when I hadn't spotted him after those few days in Katabami Kinzan, I allowed myself to slightly let down my guard.

Having Suigetsu constantly by my side also helped calm my nerves. I wasn't going to admit that to him, though… it would only inflate his already-huge ego.

Three days after my arrival in the village, said person appeared at our new hotel room grinning with two sets of outfits in his hands.

"I finally got them," he rejoiced. "You have no idea what I went through to get these."

I looked away from the small TV in the corner. Nothing interesting was on, anyway. "What did you get? Clothes?"

"Not just _any _clothes," said Suigetsu as he walked over and handed me a pair. "They're authentic Kiri uniforms."

Now that I actually stopped to think about it, we really did need uniforms if we were going to pose as ninja from Kirigakure. I had given little thought towards our attire for the trip and had merely assumed that we would show up in our current clothing. "Oh, of course," I replied. "How did you get these? You really weren't kidding when you said that you had your ways- Hey!"

Suigetsu paused in the middle of taking off his shirt, giving me a small look of surprise. "What?"

What did he mean, '_what'?_ "What are you doing?"

"Changing. We need to leave as soon as possible, right?"

I continued to stare at him unabashedly. "That's not what I meant. Why are you changing right here?"

He paused and looked at me thoughtfully before fully taking off his shirt, much to my surprise (okay, maybe I wasn't really surprised). "Heh, why not?"

Immediately averting my gaze from his bare chest, I leapt up from the bed with my uniform in my arms. "Well, if you're going to change here, then I'm going to the bathroom."

Although I wasn't looking at him, I could feel his sharp-toothed grin through the back of my head. "You're really funny when you're like that, you know."

I stopped after a few steps towards the bathroom. "When I'm like what?"

"You're always so blunt and unashamed when it comes to most things. But as soon as I do something like this, you get so flustered… It's hilarious."

Besides that same heat rising to my cheeks, I didn't feel much different. "You're stripping in front of me."

"Like I said, why not? We're teammates now, so we shouldn't have any boundaries. You don't even need to go to the bathroom… you could change right here-"

I was already in the bathroom with the door locked before he could finish his sentence.

* * *

After changing into the Kiri uniform, I stepped out of the bathroom to thankfully find Suigetsu fully clothed. He gave me a smirk that carried the mood of our recent conversation, but I blatantly ignored it and picked up my satchel along with my belt of scrolls I had acquired during my time with Karashi. "I'm ready… let's go."

When we exited the lobby and rounded the corner of the hotel, a man who looked like an ordinary villager approached Suigetsu with a meek expression. "I have your paperwork ready, Hozuki-san," he said, holding out a stack of papers.

Wait… Suigetsu even pulled strings to get us _fake paperwork for our mission?_

"Why, thank you," replied Suigetsu in a mockingly polite tone. "But didn't I also request for something else?"

The man frowned and nervously wrung his hands together. "I don't think that was part of the agreement-"

Suigetsu appeared behind him in a flash, holding the point of a kunai to his neck.

"I made that part of the deal _very _clear," Suigetsu murmured, his voice dropping to a menacing chill. "Do I need to remind you of what happened the last time you messed up?"

"N-No," the main cowered, his eyes widened in fear. "Forgive me, Hozuki-san! Here, take it!" He reached into his pocket as much as his position would allow and pulled out a thick wad of money.

"Good," purred Suigetsu as he lowered the kunai. "I'm glad we could come to an understanding."

As the man bolted away, I also experienced a revelation. "So, this_ is _how you never run out of money."

"It's pretty convenient, don't you think?" inquired Suigetsu, his carefree attitude back into place.

"Convenient for you." To be honest, he was kind of intriguing. I could tell just from Suigetsu's blackmailing that he had joined Sasuke's team for a reason. But despite my small fascination, there was something about his sadistic demeanor that bothered me, too…

It was, I realized during our journey, the high probability that Suigetsu had murdered countless others with that same manner.

How could I expect anything different? I should have immediately come to that conclusion when I discovered about his affiliation with Sasuke… All of his teammates were probably murderers. But like usual, I only noticed what I saw in him at the time.

Although I had come close, I had never actually murdered anyone in my life. It was rather unsettling to tag along with someone who would kill without even batting an eye.

But that uncomfortable subject was pushed to the back of my mind, because I _finally _got to see Suigetsu in combat.

It took us a total of two days to reach Konoha. It would have taken us only one if Suigetsu hadn't stopped so frequently for water breaks… and if we hadn't run into rogue ninja along the way.

We were about halfway to the village when I caught a sudden flicker of movement to my right. I immediately threw a handful of shuriken towards the general area, and the ensuing grunts informed me that I had hit my mark. Two missing-nin from Iwagakure zipped out in front of us, and I felt a small pang of sadness upon seeing people from my former village.

"Damn," drawled Suigetsu with a grin. "Your reflexes, Kisara. What'd I tell you?"

"Now's really not the time." I slipped into a fighting stance and eyed the two men in front of us.

The rogue ninja didn't say a word, instead remaining silent as they lunged towards us. The reason for their attack didn't become apparent until several minutes in, after they continuously attempted to corner me away from Suigetsu. He and I seemed to both realize it at the same time- they had most likely sensed my chakra and proceeded to hunt me down.

But I didn't have to worry about a thing because _oh, man._

Suigetsu could _fight._

Although I could fend off the ninja's attacks fairly well with just a kunai, the fight would have been so much different if Suigetsu hadn't been involved. He really wasn't kidding when he said he would easily take down anyone who challenged us- his taijutsu skills were amazing, to say the least. He blocked every kick and punch the ninja threw at him, and he didn't even have to activate any Jutsu or use the sword strapped to his back. Despite the threat in front of me, I soon found that most of my attention was absorbed in the way Suigetsu fought our enemies.

At one point, however, one of the rogues had Suigetsu entirely occupied. I was left to spar with the other, but he eventually found an opening and threw a shuriken at Suigetsu, who currently had his back to us. Since I was too far away to intercept the shuriken, a jolt of fear ran through me. What would I do? What would _he _do? It was headed straight for him… there was no way that Suigetsu could avoid it even if he had noticed-

And it was then that I witnessed Suigetsu liquify into a puddle before my very eyes.


	6. A Trip to Konoha (Chapter Six)

_Yes! Exams are finally over!_

_I apologize to all of my readers for not posting recently, but I have been so busy with exams, it being the end of the school year and all. But now that summer is here, I have all of this time to catch up on writing. I'll try to update often... I don't plan on leaving this story unfinished anytime soon. _

_And thank you so much for those who took the time to leave reviews! Every single one of them made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. 3_

_I'm thinking about going back to the previous chapters and adding in previews... should I do that?_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but Kisara is all mine._

* * *

Chapter Six

I became so stupefied that I didn't follow through with my kick and instead lost my balance, tumbling to the ground.

Was that puddle of water… _Suigetsu?_

Almost on cue, that puddle started to form into the shape of a body and solidified into the one and only Suigetsu merely a second later. Without paying attention to anything else but the rogues, he continued to fight as if nothing had happened.

_What… the hell?_

I had no idea how long I remained on the ground just gaping_,_ but before I knew it, the Iwa-nin were sprawled out in front of me, clearly unconscious.

I small voice in the back of my head informed me that Suigetsu must have also taken care of the other rogue for me, but I was too focused on a more pressing matter to really notice.

"I'm awesome, right?" Suigetsu bragged as he dusted himself off. "You must be completely blown away by my skills. It's okay, I expected this to happen."

Well, yeah. But it wasn't because of his _skills_ that I was so astonished. Although those were pretty good, too...

"You never told me… that you could turn into water," I croaked.

For some reason, a glint in Suigetsu's eyes told me that he had already foreseen this situation. "I never did tell you that, did I?"

I mentally kicked myself for having really been surprised. "You totally knew!"

"Knew what, hmm?"

"You knew that I was going to react this way, so you deliberately didn't tell me about your… special ability."

Suigetsu sheepishly scratched the back of his head as if he really felt ashamed. "Oh, well. You got me there." Walking over to me and offering his hand, he added, "And it's not just me… it's a whole Hozuki clan thing. Isn't it handy?"

Although it was a rather unsettling sight, I couldn't help but agree. "Very," I agreed, taking his hand. "That must mean weapons are basically useless against- gah!"

I quickly jerked away from his hand, which had enlarged to _at least _the size of my head.

While I inwardly shivered, Suigetsu burst into laughter. "You should have seen your _face!_" he guffawed. "Saving that one for you was totally worth it- my life is complete!"

"So you can mutate yourself now?" I dryly questioned, narrowing my eyes.

"Don't think of it as a mutation… it's not permanent, anyway." Just to prove his point, he returned his hand to its original size. "It's the Hozuki Hydrification Technique. Also pretty handy for wielding Kubikiribocho."

Who knew that people were capable of liquefying themselves and enlarging their limbs at will? Despite my initial disgust, I had to admit that this was pretty fascinating.

And it was getting increasingly more difficult to maintain my frown when Suigetsu was smiling at me like that.

"Well…" I hesitated upon saying the next few words. "You did well in this fight, so maybe joining up with you wasn't as bad as I thought."

Suigetsu widened his eyes in mock surprise. "Wow… that's coming from you, Kisara? Today's just full of surprises."

"Why can't you just maturely take a compliment?"

"Can I really consider that a compliment?"

Ugh… there was no dealing with this guy. Judging from his smug expression, Suigetsu probably thought that he had won some victory. I wasn't one to prolong an argument, so I only let out a small sigh before continuing past the unconscious rogues and in the direction of Konoha.

* * *

After that encounter with the Iwagakure rogues, the rest of our journey passed by relatively uneventfully, save for Suigetsu's constant chattering. Before long, Konoha's majestic gate came into view, and I started to mentally go over his instructions while trying to maintain a composed exterior.

On our mission, we were to be Kiri chunin sent by the Mizukage due to a mysterious "enemy threat" near Konoha. This idea of "extra protection" seemed very suspicious to me when Suigetsu first introduced it, but he assured me that this type of mission would allow for the most leisure, which could then be used to locate and steal Kiba.

He claimed that what we needed wasn't security, but _speed. _If we could get our hands on Kiba before the Konoha authorities discovered of our mission's invalidity, then we had no reason to worry.

And as usual, he acted so confident of his ability to succeed that I couldn't do anything but go along with his plan.

Before long, the dirt path gave way to stone as Suigetsu and I passed through the entrance to Konoha. Although he appeared completely at ease, feelings of guilt started to swirl inside of me. I knew that our intentions were wrong… Suigetsu's promise of protection almost didn't seem worth walking down this path of crime.

Suigetsu led me to a small desk situated a few yards away from the gate and handed the fake paperwork to two Konoha shinobi. "We came here on a reinforcement mission," he stated. "Orders from the Mizukage."

While my stomach flipped, one of the shinobi scanned over the paperwork and looked at us inquisitively. "There's a threat like this near the village, and they only sent the two of you? You guys must be pretty high-ranked."

"Nah, we're only chunin. But I must say… we're pretty hard to beat." Suigetsu winked.

"Well, if you say so. Maybe we could test that out during your time here, eh?"

"Kotetsu!" the other shinobi reprimanded. "You know we can't do that… We have these responsibilities to take care of."

"Hey, there's no harm in taking a break to spar."

"Yes, there is. We'd be neglecting our duties."

I couldn't help but faintly smile at their casual banter. I hadn't been in a carefree atmosphere like this since… well, forever. Were all the citizens of Konoha so innocent and lively? My small smile quickly faded at that thought and the notion that we would be stealing from such good-natured people.

"Anyway," said Kotetsu with a laugh, "You guys are probably sick of us by now. The paperwork still needs to be approved by Hokage-sama, so just head towards her office right below the mountain. You know where it is, right?"

I nodded as he handed me back the paperwork. "Yes… thank you."

I actually had no idea where to go as Suigetsu and I made our way through the village, and he flashed me an amused look before pointing to the Hokage monument. "You see that huge building right below the mountain? We're supposed to meet the Hokage there. Weren't you paying attention?"

"Partially... I was too worried about them finding out about us."

"Oh, please." Suigetsu waved me off. "Even the greatest inspectors wouldn't be able to tell that these mission papers were fake. You can trust my sources."

Frankly, he needed to prove himself much more reliable if I was going to place my trust in him. "Don't say that so loudly... there are people all around us."

Suigetsu sighed exasperatedly and shook his head. "You worry too much."

* * *

After arriving at the mansion and climbing three long flights of stairs, we finally stopped at a small door. Our escort didn't hesitate to open it and usher us inside, softly shutting it behind her afterwards with a _click._ My gaze rested on a beautiful lady in front of me, calmly regarding us with hazel eyes.

Suigetsu remained mute, so I hastily bowed and held out the paperwork. "Forgive us for the intrusion, Hokage-sama... we are ninja from Kirigakure on a reinforcement mission. According to many scouts, there are..." I racked my brain for the false information on the paperwork. "...Akatsuki members sighted near the village."

To be honest, the Akatsuki, like most current things, was only a name to me. Before my capture with Ruga, I had heard the name mentioned here and there, but I didn't know anything else pertaining to that organization until Suigetsu filled me in on some details. By the way the Hokage's eyes widened, it must have been as infamous as he claimed...

"The Akatsuki?" she repeated in disbelief. "With a serious issue like this... they only sent the two of you?"

_See? _I desperately wanted to tell Suigetsu. _Nearly everything about this scheme is suspicious. We'll definitely be found out!_

As if responding to my thoughts, Suigetsu quickly came to my aid. "We're very skilled, and the Mizukage trusts in us explicitly. I can assure you that we'll carry out this job well."

The Hokage eyed us skeptically. "And your names?"

"This is Kisara Hatta, and I'm Suigetsu Hozuki. My brother, Mangetsu, was a former member of the Seven Swordsman of the Mist."

My muscles involuntarily tensed at his words- Suigetsu and I were both aware that he was taking a gamble. Like I mentioned before, Suigetsu had left Kirigakure and joined Sasuke's team shortly after, therefore qualifying him as a rogue. However, Hebi had been formed fairly recently, and only a few number of individuals knew of his current status. Suigetsu was betting that the Hokage didn't have access to this information… and also mentioned his notorious brother to grab her attention.

Much to my relief, it seemed to work. "Mangetsu Hozuki… I see," the Hokage pondered. "You come from a very strong bloodline… I can see why the Mizukage sent you. Shizune!"

Our escort immediately stepped forward. "Yes, M'lady?"

"Summon Neji Hyuga here. He should be able to debrief these two about their mission."

"Of course." In a flash, she disappeared.

Only a few minutes later, the door opened, and a young man about my age stepped into the room. Long brown hair fell down to his lower back, and his lavender-colored eyes briefly brushed over Suigetsu and me before focusing on the Hokage.

"You called for me, Tsunade-sama?" he politely inquired.

"Yes," replied Tsunade, gesturing to us. "Shinobi from Kirigakure have arrived here on a mission. You are to explain to them their patrolling times and routes for this assignment."

The person who I assumed to be Neji nodded and took the mission papers from Tsunade, quickly scanning through its contents. After turning to us, he said, "Due to the gravity of this threat, you will be assigned one of the Jonin exterior routes bordering the village."

Suigetsu wore a disappointed expression for whatever reason, but he didn't say anything as we followed Neji out of the office and into the heat of the afternoon sun. Our new escort remained as silent and stoic as ever, quietly guiding us back to the front gate. We only followed him a few hundred feet past the gate before he led us off the dirt road and into the neighboring forest.

"This will be your assigned route," Neji stated as we walked beneath the canopy of leaves. "We will place other Jonin along similar routes to ensure the safety of the village. Your shift is from noon to dusk, and your mission starts tomorrow."

I blinked as he turned around and dropped a set of keys in my palm. "What are these for?"

"You'll need a place to stay," Neji replied. "The address is attached to the key. If you have any trouble locating the apartment, don't hesitate to contact the Hokage."

"Thanks." I wasn't expecting to get two separate places for Suigetsu and me, but it would have been nice…

Neji had to answer another call from the Hokage, but we luckily managed to locate our apartment as the sun started to sink below the horizon. It only consisted of a bathroom, living room, kitchen, and bathroom, but it would suffice for the time being. As I stepped inside after Suigetsu and locked the door, I made a mental note to sleep on the couch.

"Why were you so quiet before?" I questioned. "You're usually… really talkative."

He plopped down on the couch and casually rested his arms behind his head. "I just like to express my thoughts out loud. But I couldn't really do that today."

"Well, you were on the verge of being suspicious. Just be yourself, and we shouldn't have anything to worry about."

Suigetsu's lips quirked into the smirk I had become so accustomed to seeing. "Look at you, Kisara... you're already starting to take initiative."

Why did he always change the subject? "I'm involved too, now, so this plan's success or failure also affects me."

"Okay, fine," said Suigetsu as he barked out a laugh. "I'll do it for _you._"

Seriously, I would have applauded anyone who successfully maintained a serious conversation with him.

"You'd better keep that promise." Rolling my eyes, I made my way into the kitchen and unloaded our leftover food into the fridge. After unhooking my water bottle from my pouch, I experienced a mini revelation.

Of course… how did I not make the connection before? Suigetsu's strange ability did have a downside, after all... and that was his constant need for water.

Suigetsu's weird power was by far the strangest thing I had ever seen, but what was even stranger… was my ability to semi-cope with it all.

I mean, I was already beginning to accept him as somewhat… _normal._

I probably just needed sleep.

* * *

"You're _really _not doing this again."

"Oh, but I _really _am."

I peered up at Suigetsu from the couch and slightly tightened the blanket around my body.

"What do you have against me? You can't _still_ be mad about the shuriken thing, can you?"

He was partially correct... I just felt like I couldn't trust him yet. "No, not really. But it never hurts to take precautions."

"This is totally ridiculous. After one little thing, you're acting like I'm some sort of criminal."

"Which you are."

He paused for a moment. "Good point. But I'm not the one you make me out to be."

It could have been my imagination, but I thought I detected a hint of sincerity in Suigetsu's tone. Whatever the case, I wasn't planning on budging from the couch anytime soon. Although it was nice that he was still trying to redeem himself, I had good reason to suspect that it was only an endeavor to satisfy his ego.

Suigetsu finally seemed to accept my adamance and sighed before trudging up the staircase. When he disappeared from sight, I let out a small sigh of my own; for some unknown reason, I grew involuntarily tense whenever I was in his presence. Whether it was just a result of his unpredictable personality or me innately trying to make up for his laid-back attitude, I didn't know.

Despite my slight relaxation, however, the thoughts swirling around in my head prevented me from falling asleep. We had already been on our journey for a while, but I found myself unable to completely accept the fact that we had _actually _made it to Konoha in one piece. And in only twelve hours, we would be on our way to stealing one of the legendary swords…

Yeah, there was no way I would be able to sleep if I continued to dwell on these things.

Pushing that subject towards the back of my mind, I curled into the couch and tried to focus on how it felt so _fluffy _and _comfortable,_ unlike the rock-hard bed in Ruga's hideout. As thoughts about my freedom eventually calmed me down, exhaustion from the day's events finally caught up to me, and I soon fell into a deep slumber.

* * *

I jolted awake from a thunderous boom after what felt like only a few minutes, my entire body shivering uncontrollably. It was nearly pitch-black, but my ears immediately registered the sound of pouring rain on the roof as I stiffly retrieved the blanket on the floor (that would probably explain why I was so _cold_). Who knew that temperatures could drop this low in Konoha? This was _Hi no Kuni, _not _Yuki no Kuni__._

In only a few minutes, the bitter cold along with the occasional thunderclap managed to leave me wide-awake. No matter how long I remained on the couch wrapped up in my blanket, the shivering never stopped- it seemed as if neither the blanket nor my nightgown had the capability of retaining any heat.

So, I saw no other choice but to retrieve another blanket from the bed upstairs.

The prospect of freezing all night finally prompted me to rise from the couch (still clutching the blanket, of course) and softly pad up the staircase. When my eyes adjusted to the darkness, however, a feeling of dismay swept over me.

Contrary to my hopes, the bed only had one blanket, which was currently occupied by Suigetsu.

And it was thinner than mine, too. How Suigetsu didn't freeze to death was beyond my imagination. I couldn't take that away from him because of my selfishness... but I couldn't make do with just mine, either.

I decided to do something completely crazy.

Looking back on that night, I was probably just really desperate. Softly walking over to the bed and peering into Suigetsu's face, I discerned from his closed eyelids that he was thankfully asleep. Careful not to startle him, I unwrapped my blanket from myself (ugh, did this apartment even have _heat?_) and laid it over the bed. Letting out a small puff of air, I regarded him for another moment.

And slowly climbed into bed.

I was immediately greeted with a rush of warmth from his body, for I had no choice but to press up against Suigetsu if I didn't want to fall off the twin-sized bed. How in the world did he feel this warm? Hesitantly, I leaned into him further and experienced another blanket of heat. God, I could barely believe what I was doing, but I was so glad that I did...

Now posed the question of how I would follow through with this without disturbing the man next to me. It would be extremely unpleasant, but I finally decided on returning to the couch after an hour or so...

Until a pair of arms snaked around my waist.

I gave a small squeak of surprise at the unexpected turn of events and only wondered for a moment about Suigetsu's state of consciousness before I heard his low voice right behind my ear.

"So, you finally trust me enough to seek me for comfort."


End file.
